Construct, erect, and check regularly bird feeders and keep
written records of the kinds of birds visiting the feeders.

Develop and implement a fishery improvement project or a backyard
wildlife habitat improvement project. Share the results with your
counselor.

Design and construct a wildlife blind near a game trail, water
hole, salt lick, bird feeder, or birdbath and take good photographs
or make sketches from the blind of any combination of 10 wild birds,
mammals, reptiles, or amphibians.

Do ONE of the following:

Observe and record 25 species of wildlife. Your list may include
mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Write down when
and where each animal was seen.

List the wildlife species in your state that are classified
as endangered, threatened, exotic, non-native, game species, furbearers,
or migratory game birds. Discuss with your counselor management
practices in place or being developed for at least three of these
species.

Start a scrapbook of North American fish and wildlife. Insert
markers to divide the book into separate parts for mammals, birds,
reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Collect articles on such subjects
as life histories, habitat, behavior, and feeding habits on all
of the five categories and place them in your notebook accordingly.
Articles and pictures may be taken from newspapers or science, nature,
and outdoor magazines, or from other sources including the internet
(with your parent's permission). Enter at least five articles on
mammals, five on birds, five on reptiles, five on amphibians, and
five on fish. Put each animal on a separate sheet in alphabetical
order. Include pictures whenever possible.

Do ONE of the following:

Determine the age of five species of fish from scale samples
or identify various age classes of one species in a lake and report
the results.

Conduct a creel census on a small lake to estimate catch per
unit effort.

Examine the stomach contents of three species of fish and record
the findings. It is not necessary to catch any fish for this option.
You must (may) visit a cleaning
station set up for fishermen or find another, similar alternative.

Make a freshwater aquarium. Include at least four species of
native plants and four species of animal life, such as whirligig
beetles, freshwater shrimp, tadpoles, water snails, and golden shiners.
After 60 days or observation, discuss with your counselor the life
cycles, food chains, and management needs you have recognized. After
completing requirement 7d to your counselor's satisfaction, with
your counselor's assistance, check local laws to determine what
you should do with the specimens you have collected.

Using resources found at the library and in periodicals, books,
and the internet (with your parent's permission), learn about three
different positions held by fisheries and/or wildlife professionals.
Find out the education and training requirements for each position.

Note: The last sentence of requirement 7c has read "You may visit ..."
in the merit badge pamphlet, and "You must visit ..." in Boy Scout Requirements
since it was added in 2004.

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